I first met Steve (“Guggs”)  when he assumed the role of Corporate Vice President (CVP) for the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) division at Microsoft in March, 2008 where I was working as the Senior Business Manager for the group. Steve took responsibility for the group and it’s continuing relationships between the OEM’s that engineer, design and built mobile and embedded devices, personal computers and servers for OEMs. Steve led the group through an interesting time of industry change and growth. It was a tough job full of a million challenges. However Steve, along with a solid leadership team, navigated the waters, making the necessary course corrections and tough decisions as required.

As with any leader, there are pros and cons to their work style, methodology, communication skills and interpersonal capabilities.  Steve is no exception. He practices “precision questioning” as an art form. He is down to earth, and as demanding of his team as he is of himself. He is a stellar presenter with the ability to distill complicated information into universally digestible facts that are readily consumable by a large audience. He continually puts his family first and models work life balance. He is someone whom I innately felt was a great fit for the job ahead and he didn’t disappoint. Oh, and he is crazy for rugby! (Read a bit about his passion here.)

One of the “perks” in my role was that I was able to get to know Steve’s wife Nikki. As she and I  became acquainted we formed a friendship that shared many interests, one of which was the philanthropy their family practices. Steve will touch on that later in this article.

Nikki, like myself, and so many others, is a breast cancer “thriver”. After her diagnosis she and Steve created The Guggenheimer Family Foundation.  Their Foundation funded the Oncology Social Work Program in the Cancer Center at the Swedish Hospital, Issaquah, WA campus. Steve and Nikki’s Foundation fully funded the program for seven years, totaling just over $560,000 for this vital program. (Quite an accomplishment!)

Steve has had many opportunities in the business arena. He has successfully surmounted challenges and turned them into lessons learned. His candor is refreshing in today’s guarded business environment. I am so pleased that he has chosen to write about his experiences here so that others may hear from him. 

This is a good opportunity to learn from a seasoned and respected executive.  Enjoy!

You’ve been a corporate executive in major Fortune 500 companies for over 20 years. Tell me a little bit about the highs and lows of your career thus far.

Overall, it’s been mostly positive.  I’ve had the chance to work with a truly phenomenal group of people over 30 years now, at both Microsoft and Spectra-Physics.  In addition, my work has allowed me to interact with hundreds of customers and partners, from the smallest start-up to the largest Fortune 100 companies and learn about their businesses and industries.  The pace of change of our industry, and it’s applicability to almost every part of society, has provided me with a window into an incredibly broad set of business models, leadership styles, global strategies, challenges, operating frameworks and much, much more.   The best part of the work is the people you get to interact with. It also provides the hardest challenge when you have to say goodbye to people whom you enjoy and respect working with.

You have been a long time supporter of hiring the best person for a role. By doing so, you have enabled a broader range of influence and thinking to percolate within your organization. What advice do you have for hiring managers to help them better adapt to this process?

There are a few steps to consider in hiring.  First, is determining the operating model for the organization ahead of the org model and ahead of hiring.   You need to create a working framework that you believe is the most optimum for what your organization is trying to accomplish.  There is no “right” or “perfect” answer, the key is to create a framework you believe in and can execute well with.  This will then guide the organizational model and structure.  From there you can think about what skills are most important both for the role, and for the success within the operating model you’ve created.   Then, hiring is about starting with a broad and diverse group of people, using lots of sources to provide input on the candidates, having a diverse set of interviewers, including people whom this person will work with.  Try and ensure a broad range of backgrounds to help round out the team and complement your weaknesses with people that help fill in those gaps.  Always consider experience as one of the diversity items, to mix more junior and more senior people so you are helping grow the next generation of leaders through direct experience, as part of your leadership team.

Your career has spanned multiple business groups and multiple roles. From which group or role did you learn the most and why?

I think we learn from all of our roles.   For me I think of it as phases of learning.   Early career roles were very focused on “what” I was able to do and to deliver for the company.  Finding ways to be effective and efficient on delivering on objectives was the growth at that phase.   The second phase required the weaving in of a “how” component, so balancing delivery with how to be a leader within a dynamic and growing organization.  The most recent phase has extended to include “why”, as in what is my purpose within the broader organization and long-term impact for the company as well as industry and family.

You have a strong belief in diversity and inclusion. What do you suggest is the best way for organizations to be thoughtful regarding these two elements in today’s business environment?

There are many tools that can be used across both aspects.   A key in both aspects is leading by example and modeling the behavior you expect from others.  Ensuring that diversity and inclusion (D&I) are part of the conversation in terms of your operating model, your hiring practices, your approach to interacting with your team (and others) is important.  It’s your job, as the leader of an organization, to set the tone (in all aspects, not just D&I), people will take their cues from you, so lead by modeling the behavior you want from others.  Given we’re rarely experts in all areas of D&I, leverage the content, workshops, tools, etc. that are available, and make it part of the overall dialog, to help your team move the needle in this area…and you should expect the same from your leaders.

Giving back to the community is an important element to both you and your family. How did you integrate this into your DNA and whydo you believe it is important?

I think as we’ve evolved in our lives and career, Nikki and I have been fortunate, in many ways.  The best way to celebrate that good fortune, is to give back.   We try and pick causes that are personal, where we can have impact, and where we have a connection.   For us small gestures are often as important as the big ones.  “Time” is sometime as important a commodity to offer, as financial or other support.   It’s part of the evolution to the “why” part of my life/career.

Think back to five years ago. Did you envision this is where you would be?  

I don’t think you ever quite know where you will be at each step along your life. If you go back to when I started my career, and Nikki and I started our life together, we had no clue where we would be and would never have imagined we would be where we are today.   I do believe with each step in my career and our life together, Nikki and I have been able to get more planful about where we wanted to be and build towards that future.  It’s never as easy, or straightforward, as you might want.  But we’ve been fortunate, to get to a place in our life, that we both look forward to and appreciate.

You’re  a busy person. Husband, son, father business executive. You have always put your family at the forefront. How do you measure success while achieving work life balance?

I use the word “balance” a lot, as that is how you have to think about the trade-offs you make along the way.   Each person needs to figure out the trade-offs that allow them to balance their work and personal life, in a way that works for them, and their family.  Having a strong partner and supporter in making those trade-offs is important, and Nikki has been a critical coach and supporter in finding that balance.  There are times when, from a career perspective, the balance shifts more towards work, and there are times where it shifts more towards family.  Throughout it all, Nikki and I worked to ensure we made quality time for family.  Whether through date nights, vacations, or even giving each other the quiet time, or time with friends, needed to have balance as individuals, a couple and a family.   Communication is key both with your manager, and your family.

What challenges have you experienced in your professional life and what are the top lessons learned? 

Too many lessons learned to try and rank them…but I think rather than trying to pick “the top lessons learned”, the biggest key is learning how to learn. The key to continuing to grow is how do you learn from everything you do.   How do you learn as much, or more, from the things that don’t work, or go well than, as the things that do.   Pay attention to the people you work with and work for….learn what you like in their approach/style and what you don’t.  Learn how to read people, situations, how to work across boundaries, how to be yourself, while evolving with each role, with each opportunity. Every step in the journey is about learning, and the base for this is “learning how to learn”.

What are three key pieces of advice do you have for today’s job seekers?

  • Work experience matters as much as schooling. So gaining practical experience early in your career, for whatever it is you want to do, is important.  Students should think about how they can get applied experience while still in school.
  • Pay attention, be self-aware, always be learning
  • Be yourself, you can’t fake being what you are not

Knowing what you do today, what advice would you give your 20 year old self?

I’m not sure what I would tell my 20 year old self, or if my 20 year old self would listen.   I think we have to figure things out by going on the journey….the journey is the reward, and the way to figure it out.  So I might tell my 20 year old self to listen more….but I’m not sure he would listen to that. I would also tell him to pay more attention in English…as writing matters, even for a physics major.

What are the top 1-5 things that you are looking forward to in 2019?

  • More time with Nikki and family in Montana
  • Continuing to grow great leaders/people
  • Maybe some fun travel, with a little golf thrown in

Please include any sources that people can use to connect with you.

You can follow me on LinkedIn @stevenguggenheimer or on Twitter @stevenguggs